Behind the thousands of pairs of mittens and socks, the storey-high stacks of gift boxes and the dozens of red-shirted elves, is a man undaunted by the overwhelming process of preparing 45,000 gifts for Christmas delivery season.

Meet Paul Rippington, appointed as this year’s head elf at the Toronto Star’s top-secret warehouse, the man with the forklift responsible for making sure no present goes unpacked and no child left out.

“All these boxes have to be out by Christmas,” said Rippington, 61, scanning over the out the sprawling maze of Christmas-themed presents on the warehouse floor.

That pile, he said, should reach 45,000 gifts if the Star reaches its goal of raising $1.6 million in donations. Those boxes will then be sent to some 22,000 homes across the region.

Together, Rippington and his team of elves began in early October to pack, label and organize the gifts into massive piles. Come November, those gifts will be trucked out to locations across the GTA in preparation for delivery.

His first year on the job, it’s been a “serious learning curve” for Rippington, who recently retired from his operations job at the Toronto Star. With many of his elves and volunteers well-versed in the magic that goes into preparing the warehouse for distribution, there was much to learn when he first took the helm as floor manager.

It’s a daunting job, yes, but a manageable one for Rippington who worked for decades as a traffic and operations manager for the Star, coordinating trucking and distribution routes for the daily newspaper.

“I’m used to these deadline-oriented situations,” he said with a grin.

It’s also proved to be an eye-opening position for Rippington, one that has him more aware of the scale of poverty in his community.

“It’s surprising that 45,000 boxes are available and that may just be the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “What’s scary to think is that this might be they only gift they get.”